Metal spray gun vs. plastic on turf

I've always used a plastic gun with a fixed nozzle that creates the larger drops for my turf applications and a metal one with an adjustable nozzle only for plants because that's what Lesco recommended. I noticed my tech guy using the metal one today and when I asked him why he said he liked the coverage it gave better than the plastic one. He's applying the correct amount per sqft. Is there a reason why the plastic one should be used over the metal one on turf? BTW I'm applying 3way, Pre-M and liquid fert.

I would suspect the metal adjustable nozzle would put out less gallons per minute. Check on this. It probably produces variable and smaller droplets--and therefore is more likely to drift. Could be a lot worse if weather is windy. Fertilizer burn might be more likely.

The showerhead nozzle like on the Chemlawn gun is designed to produce a bigger droplet--so that drift is almost zero with the white nozzle. Slightly more with the smaller droplets from the green and other colors. You get less solution on your pants.

I suppose you Pre-em users wear yellow pants--so it doesn't show so much. LOL.

I would suspect the metal adjustable nozzle would put out less gallons per minute. Check on this. It probably produces variable and smaller droplets--and therefore is more likely to drift. Could be a lot worse if weather is windy. Fertilizer burn might be more likely.

The showerhead nozzle like on the Chemlawn gun is designed to produce a bigger droplet--so that drift is almost zero with the white nozzle. Slightly more with the smaller droplets from the green and other colors. You get less solution on your pants.

I suppose you Pre-em users wear yellow pants--so it doesn't show so much. LOL.

Click to expand...

yah, and the plastic is lighter too!

If you do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done. Then someday, you can do what you want when you want .

The jd-9 was originally a Japanese spray gun manufactured to blast barnacles and other junk off the bottom of dry-docked ships. It's specialty is handling high-pressure/low volume fluids. With the various nozzles sizes/designs available, I'm sure it is quite capable of spraying turf but I'm not sure I would use it for that. The cast-aluminum body of the gun would likely be pretty cold to handle on chilly days and heavy as others have mentioned. The durability of the "innards" of the gun comes into question as well. While I have no doubt that it resists corrosion, the valve/spring assembly may have problems with products such as chelated iron or gummy surfactants. The patented Lesco/Chemlawn gun (patents purchased from Chemlawn) on the other hand was designed for only one thing...spraying turf day after day with zero maintenance between rebuilds. I would rather use a purpose-built tool or machine any day than something multi-purpose or "modified".

Thanks for the responses. The tip on the plastic Lesco gun is yellow. The reason he switched to the metal one was that he felt he was coating the weeds better and getting better results with the very fine droplets. Is he really sacrificing any coverage using the shower head type?